Professional Documents
Culture Documents
ISSN 2454-5899
DOI-https://dx.doi.org/10.20319/pijss.2017.31.1730
Boitshoko E. Otlhomile
Department of Social Sciences and Academic Literacy, Botswana International University of
Science and Technology, Palapye, Botswana
otlhomileb@biust.ac.bw
Abstract
This paper investigates the root cause of little or lack of punctuation in writing. The
researchers as teachers of writing for many years at different institutions have realised that
students have little or no regard for the use of punctuation in writing, yet punctuation is one
of the most important aspects when writing both in English as the Language of Instruction in
education and in Setswana as the national language. Punctuation gives meaning to the
written words, and that its omission or wrong use may convey a different meaning from the
one the writer intended, or may render the writing altogether meaningless. The study was
conducted at a university of science and technology and it involved first year students
enrolled in four engineering programmes. The first year classes were chosen because it is the
first stage into university education. The data were collected and analysed qualitatively. It is
hoped that the results of the study will inform lecturers at tertiary institutions and teachers of
secondary schools about the punctuation problems that students bring into the university.
These problems have a negative effect on the quality of the students written work, and
eventually, their academic performance. It is recommended that the students are sensitised
about the importance of correct punctuation in writing. Consequently, lecturers of writing in
tertiary education institutions will receive students who are better writers.
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PEOPLE: International Journal of Social Sciences
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Key words:
1. Introduction
Punctuation is one of the most important aspects when writing both in English as the
Language of Instruction (LoI) in education. It gives meaning to the written message, and its
omission or wrong use may convey a different meaning from the one the writer intended, or
may render the writing altogether meaningless. Similarly, Connelly (2005) states that
punctuation marks control the writers tone and clarify the thought. Despite the importance of
punctuation in writing, students at the Botswana International University of Science and
Technology (BIUST) continue to display complete disregard for the use of punctuation in all
their writing. Whether this is a result of ignorance or sheer negligence, the end result is
incoherent writing.
Punctuation is a very important sign-post that not only conveys the meaning of the
written text, but also through its use, conveys the feelings and emotions of the writer. Alfaki
(2015) concurs that through writing; a person can express own ideas, thoughts, opinions and
attitudes. For this reason it is important that punctuation marks are used correctly for the
written text to be consistent with the writers intentions. In that regard, Sawhney (2015) states
that a wrong punctuation mark may create startling change in the sentence or can even
render the sentence meaningless (p1509).Punctuation involves the use of a series of
conventions that make it easier for readers to follow the writers line of thought. The basic
rules are:
A full stop (.) marks the end of a sentence which stands for a main idea.
A comma (,) marks a pause in the flow of an idea, which is not a complete sentence
but allows for additional information.
A semi-colon (;) is a longer pause, which is meaningful but may not be the end of a
sentence.
A colon (:) indicates that a list of ideas is about to follow.
A question mark (?), as the name implies, is used to indicate to the reader that the
sentence is a question and not a statement.
An exclamation mark (!) conveys to the reader the writers emotions such as surprise,
excitement, and anger.
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PEOPLE: International Journal of Social Sciences
ISSN 2454-5899
The correct use of all these punctuation marks renders the written text meaningful.
However, their incorrect use may imply a wrong meaning from what the writer intended.
Furthermore, exclusion of punctuation marks may result in a meaningless text. Unfortunately,
the modern-day student does not seem to be aware of the dire consequences of wrong use or
non-usage of the punctuation marks. Whilst the researchers are expected to focus their
teaching on technical writing and academic literacy, they find themselves having to go back
to the basics to teach students on how to punctuate correctly. Students at the level of the
university still find it difficult to punctuate correctly or even to punctuate at all. Afrin (2016)
makes a similar observation that most of the students at tertiary level education are very weak
in the writing skills. Hence the researchers undertook this study to share with other educators
the extent of the problem at their university and the measures they have used to try to remedy
the situation.
1.1 Background on admission of students on BIUST programmes
other. For instance, students in the College of Engineering and Technology study the course
for three semesters; while those in the College of Sciences (including ICT), study it for four
semesters.
2. Conceptual Framework
The Social-Constructivism theory based on Vygotsky [1896-1934] (1962)s theory
of the "Zone of Proximal Development" (ZPD) (Blake and Pope, 2008) informed the
conceptual framework of this paper. ZPD refers to the distance between the actual
developmental level as determined by independent problem-solving and the level of potential
development as determined through problem-solving under adult guidance or in collaboration
with more capable peers (McLeod, 2012). The social constructivism theory posits that
children performed better when working collaboratively on a task with an adult than when
working on their own (Daniels, 1996). This is because the process of engagement with the
adult enabled them to refine their thinking or their performance to make it more effective.
This theory suggests that learners are much more actively involved in a joint enterprise with
the teacher of creating ("constructing") new meanings. The researchers found this theory
appropriate for this paper because the tasks students were given required interaction between
the students and their lecturer or the teaching assistant who often supervised students work
during tutorial sessions.
3. Research Problem
This paper discusses the role of punctuation marks in writing. The researchers
embarked on a study to investigate the root cause of the problem of lack of punctuation use in
students written work. The researchers have realised over many years of teaching similar
courses at different institutions that students, regardless of their level of education, have little
or no idea about the role of punctuation in writing. It seems the students are oblivious of the
fact that punctuation use and its correct use result in effective communication. The
researchers are aware that there are no universal rules of punctuation (Carrol and Wilson,
1995). However, the fundamental rule is that punctuation is indispensable in writing.
Furthermore, academic writing requires correct use of punctuation in addition to good
grammar, correct spelling and capitalisation. It is against this background that the researchers
embarked on this research to bring to the fore the extent of the problem of lack of punctuation
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PEOPLE: International Journal of Social Sciences
ISSN 2454-5899
in students work. This is important because lack of punctuation or its incorrect use
negatively impacts on the quality of writing and consequently on students academic
performance.
To address the research topic, the researchers used the following research questions:
4. Methodology
The study involved 20first-year engineering students, and their written work served
as data for the study. These students were randomly drawn from four engineering
programmes of Mechatronics, Geological, Civil and Environmental, Chemical, Material and
Metallurgical Engineering. From each programme, five samples of students work were
randomly chosen to give a fair representation.
The written work chosen for the study was a summary exercise that had been
marked. A summary was chosen because the researchers felt that it will give an authentic
picture of the quality of students writing regarding punctuation use when they enter
university. A summary exercise gives the students an opportunity to formulate their own
writing without plagiarising what has already been written. It also tests the students
understanding of the salient points of the original text. Therefore, it was assumed that through
it, the students would display their level of competency in writing in general, and a good
understanding of punctuation rules in particular. Each summary was analysed to determine
whether punctuation marks have been used correctly. Where punctuation marks were
wrongly used, implication on meaning was determined.
4.1 Site
The study was based at the Botswana International University of Science and
Technology, which is a university specifically established to train future scientists, engineers,
and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) experts. The students are required to
study the TWAL course as part of general education. The engineering students are offered
this course for one and a half years distributed over three semesters in three years. During the
first two semesters, students are introduced to the principles and practices of Technical
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PEOPLE: International Journal of Social Sciences
ISSN 2454-5899
Writing. In the third semester, they are introduced to basic research skills and are expected to
apply their skills in producing a research report. This is important because it gives students an
opportunity to display their writing skills.
5. Data Analysis
The data were analysed qualitatively. This involved reading each of the 20
summaries to see whether the four main punctuation marks (full stop, comma, semi-colon
and a colon) were correctly used. In addition, a question mark and an exclamation mark were
checked for correct usage although rare in students writing. In analysing the data,
implication on meaning as a result of a punctuation mark used or not used was observed. The
overall implication on the quality of writing was also observed.
The first stage has to do with ideas that could be starting points for research projects.
These ideas may originate from several sources: from the laboratory itself, either in
connection with existing work or from deliberate exploratory studies; from refineries and
chemical plants as the direct outcome of actual operating problems; or from marketing, where
a close watch is kept on customers requirements and probable trends. The second stage,
development research, comprises all the investigation required for putting the idea into
practice. If, say, a new product is to be put on the market, the best manufacturing conditions
(temperature, pressure and flow rate) must be worked out: analytical methods for controlling
a commercial plant must be devised and construction materials for the plant must be
investigated. Often a new catalyst must be found, and hundreds of exploratory experiments
are carried out, guided by knowledge gleaned from fundamental studies on catalysis.
Engineering studies provide the data needed for the design of reactors and other
equipment. Complete miniature laboratory units, incorporating all the essential features of the
process are visualised, will probably be followed by the construction of a pilot plant to prove
that the process is workable on an industrial scale. The pilot plant also enables the entire
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PEOPLE: International Journal of Social Sciences
ISSN 2454-5899
range of possible manufacturing conditions to be studied. This stage is both lengthy and
extremely expensive: costs of a pilot plant may be more than P10 million. Once the properties
of a new product have been explored, the product is generally passed to the product research
laboratory, where its possible uses are studied. Here, cooperation with other industries can be
especially valuable.
Obtained and adapted from: Langan, J. (2008) Writing Skills for Colleges and Universities in
Africa. New York: McGraw-Hill.
6. Results Discussion
The results of the study were discussed under three research questions. The first
research question was What is the extent of the problem of punctuation among BIUST
students? From the analysed data, the results revealed that students hardly used punctuation
marks in writing. Lack of punctuation results in lengthy sentences which end up concealing
the meaning the reader intended. Where punctuation is used, either it is used wrongly or it is
overused. Awad (2012) makes a similar observation that the comma was overused at the
expense of the period. Akampirige & Benjamin (2014) also observe that students were unable
to use punctuation marks correctly in their own free writing. For example, an extract below
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PEOPLE: International Journal of Social Sciences
ISSN 2454-5899
Extract One:
Second stage, development research, comprises investigation for putting the idea
into practice, likewise, product to be put on the market, then best manufacturing conditions
must be done.
The sentence above is lengthy and incoherent because of overuse of the comma.
Infact, the sentence can be split into two sentences as follows:
Second stage, development research, comprises investigation for putting the idea
into practice. For instance, if a product is to be put on the market, then best manufacturing
conditions must be done.
The analysed data further revealed that the students failed to use the comma after transitional
words such as: For example, first, second, third, then, and finally. Extract two below from a
summary written by a Mechatronics Engineering student illustrates this:
Extract Two
For example if a new product is introduced, all the important tools for it to succeed
must be planned. Finally the product is put on an industrial scale however this is costly and
takes time.
Three transitional words have been used in the extract above: For example, finally
and however; but the writer failed to punctuate with a comma after each one of them. The
writer failed to see that a comma is used to signal a pause that even a speaker will make in a
speech.
The results also showed that the students cannot use the full stop correctly. The full
stop is very important because it marks the end of a sentence which is often a statement. Its
wrong use is illustrated in extract three below from a summary written by a Civil and
Environmental engineering student:
Extract Three
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PEOPLE: International Journal of Social Sciences
ISSN 2454-5899
Second stage involves putting ideas into practice in order to develop the research.
by carrying out investigations an example would be a new product, the best manufacturing
conditions must be worked out.
In the extract above, the writer uses a full stop in the middle of a sentence and starts
the next sentence with a small letter. In addition, a comma is used wrongly. This resulted in
the meaning of the sentence(s) being obscured.
Furthermore, the results showed that some of the students wrongfully used capital
letters it is evident that the students have not internalised the basic rules of English
grammar. The extract below demonstrates this anomaly:
Extract Four
The first stage has to do with ideas that could be starting points For research
projects.
The writer has used capital F in the word for in the middle of a sentence.
The next research question is: What is the effect of lack of punctuation on students writing
and performance? The results have shown that lack of punctuation or wrong use of
punctuation marks negatively affects the quality of the students writing. Poor writing skills
affect the meaning that is to be conveyed. The reader who is usually the teacher or lecturer-
may misinterpret the message or may not be able to understand the message altogether. As a
result, a student may be penalised by being awarded a low mark. Low marks reflect poor
academic performance on the part of the student.
Furthermore, evidence from the students written work has also shown that other
punctuation marks such as the semi-colon, colon and even a question mark are usually used
wrongly or even omitted where they are required. Awad (2012) similarly observes that
students often misuse the semi-colon.
The last research question is: What strategies are used to address punctuation
problem? The correct use of punctuation marks cannot be ignored because punctuation
marks contribute to meaning of a written text. In the researchers views, punctuation marks
are important to both spoken and written communication just like road signs are important in
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PEOPLE: International Journal of Social Sciences
ISSN 2454-5899
driving. Connelly (2005) similarly observes that punctuation marks are like traffic lights
telling us to slow down and stop. Therefore, to address the problem of punctuation in
students writing, the researchers have used three strategies. The first strategy is The fill-in-
the gaps strategy. In this strategy, students are given a text with all punctuation marks
removed. Then they are asked to punctuate the text to make it meaningful. This strategy is
effective because the students are able to see the importance of punctuation in giving
meaning to a written text. Mohammed and Hazarika (2016) suggest a similar strategy that
editing writing pieces with punctuation errors can help students in improving this
segment [correct punctuation] p114. Alfaki (2015) makes a similar observation that students
need to practice writing [including use of punctuation marks] to become good writers.
The second strategy is The self-criticism strategy. Here the teacher and the
students discuss the students marked written work. By revising their own work, students are
able to appreciate the mistakes they have made and how to avoid them in future. Muwafaq
That way, the students would diagnose their shortcomings and correct those (Muslim, 2014).
Mohammed and Hazarika (2016) also allude to the same strategy that class test should also
be analysed and mistakes should be explained to students so that they can avoid the same
mistakes in future pp113-114.
The third strategy is The road-sign strategy.In this strategy, road signs are used to
assist the students to understand the importance of punctuation marks in writing. For
instance, a comma is similar to a yield sign, a full stop is like a stop sign, and an exclamation
mark is equated to a warning sign. Wrong use of punctuation marks or their omission may
result in incoherent writing just like violation of road signs may result in a serious injury.
Incoherent writing may lead to low marks, which may result in possible failure by a student.
Mohammed and Hazarika (2016) also assert that most students fail to perform better because
they do not know the basic rules of punctuation. Table 6.1 below illustrates the similarities in
meaning between road signs and punctuation marks.
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PEOPLE: International Journal of Social Sciences
ISSN 2454-5899
All the three strategies discussed above are consistent with the social constructivism
theory based on Vygotsky [1896-1934] (1962)s theory of the "Zone of Proximal
Development" (ZPD) (Blake and Pope, 2008). By working with their lecturers, the students
are able to understand why a particular punctuation mark is applicable at a certain stage of a
sentence but not the other punctuation mark. In that regard, Afrin (2016) asserts that English
teachers need to spend a great deal of time checking, marking and giving feedback to their
students p. 112.
7. Study Limitation
The results of this study are limited to the four engineering groups which were the
focus of this study. Therefore, they cannot be generalized to all engineering students or to all
BIUST students. In the future, the study may be extended to other engineering programmes.
Similarly, the results are not applicable to the students enrolled for the Sciences and
Information Communication Technology (ICT) unless a similar study is conducted in their
college.
8. Conclusions
The study has demonstrated that when students enter tertiary education, they bring
with them some language difficulties which impact negatively on teaching and learning. As a
result, lecturers in tertiary education teach language basics such as punctuation that students
should have mastered at secondary school. Mohammed and Hazarika (2016) also state that
students do not know even the basic rules of punctuation though it has been part of their
school curriculum p. 112.The study has also shown that punctuation is very important in
writing. Without it, the reader is left struggling to make sense out of what is written (Awad,
2012). According to Awad, punctuation marks are important to a reader just like a torch is
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PEOPLE: International Journal of Social Sciences
ISSN 2454-5899
important to a person walking in the dark. Robert (2006) also states that punctuation marks
cut the flow of words into meaningful groups and prevent confusion. Therefore, punctuation
marks are invaluable to both the writer to communicate meaning and to the reader to receive
meaning from a written text. According to (Ming, 2006) wrong use of punctuation marks is a
distinctive indicator of lack of clarity in texts.
The study has also confirmed that because of poor punctuation, writing and meaning
become the casualties; the students are the victims because it is not their fault that they cannot
punctuate correctly. It is a clear that somewhere the education system has ignored one of the
important aspects of writing, namely the use of punctuation marks. In the researchers view,
the teachers of language are the culprits. Once teachers of language begin to pay special
attention to punctuation use and emphasise its importance in conveying meaning, students
will consciously learn it. Punctuation mistakes will decrease andthe quality of students
writing will improve. Consequently, reading students written work will be pleasant and
performance will also be positively affected.
9. Recommendations
Having revealed the important role of punctuation use in writing, it is recommended
that language teachers at all level of education should emphasise the importance of
punctuation in giving meaning to the written word. Teachers of non-language subjects should
also pay attention to punctuation when marking students written work. Awad (2012) also
asserts that all teaching staff should overstress the importance of all the punctuation marks
in the written and the oral communication courses p. 211.Afrin (2016) also observes that
students are not motivated to write in English in non-English major classes. This implies that
teachers of non-language subjects do not think that it is their responsibility to encourage
students to write correctly, including using punctuation marks correctly. The establishment of
writing centres in schools and institutions of higher learning will go a long way in giving
facilitators [teachers] and learners an opportunity to pay attention to some of the important
aspects of writing outside the classroom (Mokgwathi, 2015). Teachers will coach their
students on how to write well, including using punctuation marks correctly, consistent with
Vygotsky (1962)s theory of social constructivism. Furthermore, when marking students
work, correct use of punctuation marks should be allocated marks to encourage students to
understand and appreciate its importance in written communication.
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PEOPLE: International Journal of Social Sciences
ISSN 2454-5899
In conclusion, the researchers concur with Lukeman (2006) that punctuation marks
are as essential to good composition just as nails are important to a carpenter. Rumki (2005)
also states that properly used punctuation helps readers to understand meaning and makes
them engrossed in what they are reading.
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